Dear Friends,

The season of Lent leading up to Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday is one in which Christians of all varieties re-enact the great drama of our faith. These events, of course, culminate in the great festival of the Resurrection of Christ, commonly known as Easter Sunday. Easter, however, marks the onset of a new season in the annual cycle of the church's liturgical year. Thus, the focus of our spiritual energies until Easter Day is upon the dramatic and redeeming events, especially during Holy Week, which gives the Resurrection faith its power and grandeur.

I encourage you to take part in as many Lenten/Holy Week services and activities as possible in order to enter into the great mystery of our faith. Holy Week begins with the enigmatic day called Palm Sunday which is also know as Passion Sunday. Indeed, the events of Holy Week are the core of the Christian faith and, with Easter, are the reasons that the early church was founded and the New Testament composed.

I hope that you will be able to attend one of our Palm Sunday services. There will be a Palm Sunday Procession by the children of the church at the 10:00 A.M. service who will distribute palm branches as they make their way around the sanctuary. I hope, too, that many of you will be able to attend the Palm Sunday Communion Breakfast which combines both the competing emotions of the day; festiveness and solemnity.

One of the most sublime services of the year is our Maundy Thursday Service, this year celebrated on April 8th. During that service we identify with Jesus as he celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples. That event marks also the night upon which Jesus was betrayed and is the origin of our Communion services. On Maundy Thursday we will partake in the Communion and the deacons/deaconess will read Scripture passages which relate the dramatic events of the night. It is a "tenebrae" service. As each of the readers conclude a candle will be extinguished and the lights in the sanctuary will be dimmed. The service ends with the sanctuary in complete darkness as we identify with the lonely Jesus and the impending events of Good Friday. I hope that the sanctuary will be filled for this sublime service! Those who attend find it to be a crucial point in the movement of the spirit in preparation for the meaning and joy of Easter Day.

On Good Friday a Celtic-inspired service will be held in the sanctuary at 7:00 P.M. The service grew out of my own Celtic studies and travel, but an outline of the service is to be found in a book of prayers/services entitled Celtic Daily Prayer. The service, adapted to our sanctuary by the ministers, follows the beleaguered Jesus to various symbolic locations which led Jesus to the place of his Crucifixion. Only a handful of people attended the service last year, the first one ever, but to a person there was a strong and profound identity with Jesus and the spiritual origin of the faith based upon his divine entry into our humanity. I hope that many of you will want to attend this service of humility before the mystery of God's grace and love.

The services I've mentioned are steps along the way of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels. They are necessary steps toward the grandest of all festivals, Resurrection Day.

Love,

© The Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, MA Inc., all rights reserved.

Morning Worship 10:00 A.M. Special Sunday Service (See back page).

The Children will attend church school following the Time for Teaching.

Ushers: Arlene Axford, Shirley Axon, Janie Chapman and Katherine Lafayette.

Greeters: Plymouth Assembly #86, International Order of the Rainbow for Girls.

The Pulpit Flowers are in loving memory of Rev. W. Mark Sexon, given by the Plymouth Assembly #86, International Order of the Rainbow for Girls

The Daffodil Flowers: in the front of the Sanctuary offer a sign of hope and are a living symbol of the progress that is being made in the fight against cancer.

All are invited to join us for Coffee Hour downstairs in Allerton Hall following the worship service. Volunteers are needed for coffee hour. Please look for the sign-up sheet on the coffee hour counter.

Greeters are still needed for Easter Sunday, April 11th the 11:00 A.M. service and the month of May. Please call the church office to volunteer to greet or look for the sign-up sheet, which will now be located on the Membership and Evangelism Bulletin Board. We encourage all new members to sign up to greet. This is a great way to be recognized and meet other members of your church family!

There will be no Childrens' Service April 4 due to Palm Sunday.

Pew Pads: Did you know you can learn the names of visitors so that you can introduce yourself by reading the pew pads? Visitors follow our lead. Please make sure the pew pads are filled out and passed along. If you include your address, visitors may do the same! As always, try to welcome newcomers at coffee hour. Thank you, the Membership and Evangelism Committee.

Office Hours: M-F 8:45 A.M.-3:45 P.M. Thursday's 8:30 A.M.-3:00 P.M.

CHURCH RECORD

Hospitalized: Timothy Mee, Daniel Costello (Ann DeFrancesco's father), Jordan Hospital.

Baptism:
On March 21, 2004, Cameron John Dobratz, son of Susan (Short) and Evan Dobratz, was baptized during the worship service.

Wedding:
On March 20, 2004, Rev. Marks officiated, assisted by Aaron Mahnke, at the wedding of Shawn Allen Gracey and Stacie Elena Colarusso in the church sanctuary.

THIS WEEK

Sunday, March 28: Morning Worship 10:00 A.M., the Fifth Sunday in Lent; The service will include a service to dedicate our new Truth and Light Hymnals and it will feature our Sanctuary Choir performing a Bach Cantata appropriate to the Lenten Season. There will be no sermon; Today is also Daffodil Sunday. Those who reserved a bouquet will be able to pick them up following the service. Please welcome the Plymouth Assembly #86, International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. Finally you may wish to give or loan an Easter Lily in memory of a loved one. The Flower Committee will be available in the lower vestibule to receive these orders (See "Notes").

Monday, March 29: Rev. Dan's office hours 10:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M.; Aerobics, 9:00 A.M. in Allerton Hall; Girl Scout Tr. 1128, 6:00 P.M. in Church House.

Tuesday, March 30: Rev. Marks will be in the church office following a service at the Newfield House; Rev. Dan's office hours 10:00 A.M.-Noon; Aerobics, 6:30 P.M. in Allerton Hall; Lenten Spirituality Group, 7:00 P.M. in the Pastor's Study, in the church.

Wednesday, March 31: Aerobics, 9:00 A.M. in AH; Staff Meeting, 10:00 A.M.; Rev. Dan's office hours 10:00 A.M.-Noon; Choir Rehearsal, 7:30 P.M. in the Sanctuary; Troop 47, 7:00 P.M. in the Church House.

Thursday, April 1: APRIL FOOLS! Rev. Dan's office hours 10:00 A.M.-Noon; Girl Scout Troop 1227, 4:00 P.M. in the CH; Aerobics, 6:30 P.M. in AH.

Friday, April 2: Rev. Marks office hours, 9:30 A.M.-11:30 A.M.; Aerobics, 9:00 A.M. in AH.

Saturday, April 3: Rev. Marks plans to attend a Pilgrim Fellows meeting at Pilgrim Hall.

PLEASE NOTE

Please call the church office if you are aware of persons hospitalized or in need of pastoral care. It is especially important to let the ministers know about out-of-town hospitals. Hospital listings prepared for clergy at the Jordan Hospital, too, have been irregular in availability. It is, therefore, important that the ministers and church office be informed of any hospitalizations. Thank you for your help.

Palm Sunday Breakfast: April 4, 2004, 8:00 A.M., The Palm Sunday Breakfast. The cost is $6.50 per person or $12.00 per family.

Memorial Lilies: The joyous Easter season is upon us. By your loving donation of Easter lilies we can enhance the beauty of our church on Easter morning. Sign up in the lower vestibule following the service for the next two Sundays, or call the church office. There will be an insert listing the donors and those memorialized in the Easter week Herald. The suggested price for a multi-flowered replantable lily is $15.00. The flowers may be donated to shut-ins or picked up after the 11:00 Easter Sunday service on Sunday, April 11. Volunteers will be welcomed to take flowers to shut-ins following the service.

All committee and board chairs should have their Annual Report to the office by hard copy, disk, or you can e-mail it in Microsoft Word (this is the preferred method if you have it) by March 31, 2004. If you have any questions about e-mailing please give Pam a call.

The Board of Trustees has begun to look into renewing the Capital Campaign to renovate our Church House. In the near future there will be plans and drawings for us to examine during coffee hours. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the space needs committee, please contact Neil Bottomley, Larry Foster, Al Hoyt, Fred Northrop or Bob Colburn. Thank you.

Our New Hymnal: The Hymnal Committee and the Music Committee thank the many who have made gifts of hymnal bookplates. Our hymnals will take their place in our pew racks, and we will sing from them this Sunday, March 28. Hymnal dedications will continue to be gratefully accepted in the future as long as there are hymnals in which to place the bookplates. And in answer to many requests, copies of the Pilgrim Hymnal will be available also for a $5 gift, starting Sunday, March 28. Thank you, Bill Harting & Louise Brown.

March 28th will be a focus on music at The Church of the Pilgrimage. The choir/organist will present a Bach Cantata on that Fifth Sunday in Lent.

If you would like to receive Communion privately during the Lenten season, please call the church office.

If you know that you will have an announcement on any given Sunday, it would be helpful to let the church office know (or the ministers) on the prior Friday.

If you were unable to make your One Great Hour of Sharing Offering on March 21st, you may place your envelope in the collection plate this Sunday or send it to the church office.

ATTENTION: Time and Talent Auction. Saturday, May 8. Save the date please and plan to come and have fun. Sign up sheets for the auction will be available very soon and should be returned by April 25th. This is a major fund-raiser and we are expecting 100 percent involvement of the congregation. Please begin thinking of what you might offer as an item for sale. We all have talents that would be appreciated by others. Services are very welcome. Suggestions: yard work, handyman help, baby-sitting, sponsor a birthday party in Allerton Hall for a child under the age of 7 or so, etc. We hope to offer a dinner on that evening and the details will be forthcoming. Let's make it a success again this year. Thank you, Diana.

Pilgrimage Women's Fellowship: All women of the Church are invited and encouraged to attend our next meeting which will be held Monday, April 5th at 7:00 p.m. we will have our usual devotions and meeting at the Loring Library Annex next to the Lutheran Church in North Plymouth directly across from WalMart. After the meeting, we will be treated to a tour of this historic building. We will then proceed to Ernie's Restaurant also in North Plymouth for dessert and coffee. As always, if you need a ride, please contact either Marna Blomberg at (781) 826-2543 or Jenny Healy at (508) 747-7168. Thank you and we hope to see you all there.

The Women's Guild April 9th program has been changed to the Library Tour. We will meet at the Church at 1:00 P.M. to carpool to the Library. We will leave the Church at 1:15 and the tour begins at 1:30 P.M. There will not be any refreshments served. The menu for luncheon banquet at Bobby Hackett's will be available to make choices for lunch. The menu will also be available at the May meeting.

The Alliance of First Parish cordially invites the women of our church to the Interfaith Ladies Guest Day on Monday, May 12, 2004 at 1:30 P.M. at the First Parish Church. The program is entitled mes amis (old-time and nouveau Zydeco and Cajun dance hall music). Please RSVP to Pauline Hatton, 508-866-7191 or Ruth Nerboso, 508-746-2403.
Camp Scholarships are available for the camp programs outlined in the camp insert. If you are interested in attending one of these camps please see Rev. Dan for scholarship information.

Habitat for Humanity Upcoming Fundraisers. For information please see the back of the Camp Scholarship insert.

Church School: All children participating in the Palm Sunday Worship and Procession of Palms should meet their teachers in Allerton Hall at 9:30 A.M.

COMING EVENTS

Services and Events During the Remainder of Lent/Easter Sunday

April 4: -Palm Sunday Communion Breakfast in Allerton Hall at 8:00 A.M.
- Palm Sunday Worship with Procession of Palms, 10:00 A.M. in the Sanctuary. (There will be no Communion Service at the 10:00 A.M. Service).

April 6: Spirituality Group, 7:00 P.M., Pastor's Study, Church Bldg.

April 8: Maundy Thursday Our solemn service re-enacting the Last Supper will be held in the Sanctuary, 7:00 P.M.

April 9: Good Friday: There will be a Celtic inspired Good Friday
Service in the Sanctuary, 7:00 P.M.

April 10: Holy Saturday

April 11: Easter Sunday/Celebration of Christ's Resurrection:
- Sunrise Service on Cole's Hill, 6:00 A.M.
- Two Services at the Church of the Pilgrimage: 9:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.

Clerk - Lois Post; Moderator - Steven Triffletti; Treasurer - David Kegel; Collector - Thomas Mudgett;
Asst. Collector - Debbie Chaskes; Music Director - William B Richter;
Secretary - Pam McNicholas; Sexton - Tony Nightingale; World Mission Emphasis - Heifer Project International;
Church Building Telephone - (508) 747-1341.